Crossbar



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IN VEN TOR. #6772"? Jury/4f BY I United States Patent Filed Jan. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 788,006 3 Claims. (Cl. 105-369) This invention relates to freight bracing crossbars of of type used in railway boxcars for the purpose of preventing shifting of cargo during transit. Crossbars of this general type have previously usually been made of composite wood and metal construction, or of composite steel and aluminum construction. In bars of the metal and wood construction the wood is subject to warping and this prevents accurately maintaining the exterior dimensions. In the composite steel and aluminum constructions problems are encountered in connecting the steel and aluminum parts together.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved crossbar which is simple in design, economical of manufacture, durable in use, and which overcomes the above mentioned disadvantages of previously known constructions.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved crossbar of the above mentioned type having an elongated tubular body and improved means for connecting the end fitting to the body.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide such an improved crossbar having a body which may be readily formed of commercially available standard steel tubing.

Further, it is an object of the invention to provide such a crossbar including a tubular steel socket mounted in at least one end of the tubular steel body and adapted to receive the shank ofan end fitting by which the bar is connected to supporting members which may be located, for example, on the opposite side walls of a freight car.

Other and more detailed objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following specification, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a broken elevational view of a crossbar constructed according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 1, taken along the line 22 thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a broken longitudinal sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 2, taken along the line 3-3 thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view similar to FIGURE 2 showing a modified form of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a view partly in longitudinal section and partly in elevation, showing a further modified form of the invention; said,

FIGURE 6 is a transverse sectional view of the construction illustrated in FIGURE 5 taken along the line 6-6 thereof.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawing, and particularly to FIGURE 1 thereof, the crossbar generally indicated at 10 includes an elongated tubular body 12 which carries at each end thereof an end fitting 14 which is adapted to be connected to a supporting angle 16 mounted on the wall 18 of a railway freight car or other means defining a freight receiving chamber. The crossbar 12 in the preferred embodiment illustrated is preferably formed of standard commercially available steel tubing and is rectangular in shape. It will, of course, be appreciated that the shape and thickness of the steel tubing employed may be varied as desired.

At at least one end the body 12 carries an end fitting socket 20. In the preferred embodiment illustrated this end fitting socket 20 is also formed of standard commercially available steel tubing, the illustrated socket 20 being square in shape and substantially smaller than the rectangular body 12. The end fitting socket 20 is telescopically received in the end portion of the tubular bar body 12. The opposite sides are offset inwardly as indicated at 22 to provide flat portions 24 which engage opposite sides of the tubular end fitting socket 20. The socket 20 is securely held in place by welding the flat portions 24 of the body 12 to the opposite sides of the socket 20. In the preferred embodiment illustrated this is accomplished by providing apertures 26' opening through these flat portions 24 and by arc welding these flat portions to the socket 20 around the periphery of the holes 26 as indicated at 28. It will be noted that there are two apertures 26 and welds 28 spaced longitudinally of each of the inwardly offset portions 24. It will be appreciated, of course, that other types of welds may be employed such, for example, as a stud weld.

The end fitting 14 may be of any suitable construction including a shank 30 adapted to extend into the end fitting socket 20. The end fitting 14 illustrated is generally similar in construction to the end fitting 5 illustrated in Patent No. 2,837,039 granted June 3, 1958 on application of George M. Schueder and assigned to the assignee of the present application. This end fitting 14 includes a body 32 formed integrally with the shank 30, and which supports a pair of downwardly projecting fixed pins 34 and carries a movable latch 36. The body 32 and shank 30 are formed as a unitary forging, as a result of which, the shank 30 is initially formed with the cross-sectional shape of the shank 30' illustrated in FIGURE 4.

It will be noted that shank 30' illustrated in FIGURE 4 differs from the shank 30 illustrated in FIGURE 2 in that the right and left-hand sides, as there illustrated, are provided with the draft angle required in the formation of the shank by forging. The shank 30 illustrated in FIGURE 2 has been machined subsequent to the forging process so that the opposite sides 38 thereof are fiat so that the shank 30 may have a relatively close sliding fit with the square end fitting socket 20. The end fitting 14- is held in assembled relation with the end fitting socket 20 by a stop bolt 48 which extends through a nut 40 welded to the outer surface of one of the inwardly offset portions 24 of the body 12 as indicated at 46, through such offset portion and the adjacent wall of the socket 20, and projects inwardly of the socket 20 between two of the generally parallel longitudinally extending flanges 42 of the H-shaped shank 30. At its inner end the shank 30 is provided with cross flanges 44, one of which will engage the bolt 48 to prevent withdrawal of the end fitting shank 30 from the socket 20. In the preferred embodiment illustrated the bolt 48 is provided with a button top to provide a smooth outer surface to prevent damage to merchandise which may come in contact with it. It will be noted, however, that the likelihood of such contact is virtually eliminated by virtue of the fact that the head of the bolt 48 is disposed within the recess formed in the outer surface of the crossbar body 12, because of the fact that the flat portions 24 are inwardly offset as indicated at 22 relative to the outer surface of the bar body.

The construction illustrated in FIGURE 4 differs from the construction illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 3, inclusive, only in that, as pointed out about, the side surfaces of the shank 30' are not machined to provide the flat surfaces 38 but rather, are left with the draft angle resulting from the forging process. To accommodate this draft angle and still provide a relatively close sliding fit, the end fitting socket 20 has a pair of its opposite side walls 3 slightly bulged, as indicated at 50, so that the shape of the side is such that they are adapted to fit the draft angle provided on the adjacent side of the shank 30'.

In the modified form of the present invention illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6, the elongated tubular bar body 12 is of the same construction as in FIGURES 1 to 4, inclusive, and is welded directly to the end fitting 14 eliminating the tubular sockets 20 and 20 of FIGURES 1 to 4, and providing a fixed end fitting construction as distinguished from the telescoping constructions of FIGURES 1 to 4.

The end fitting 14 has a shank 52 of generally H-shaped cross section similar to that of the shank 30 of FIGURES l to 3, but include at opposite sides thereof pairs of longitudinally spaced outwardly extending annular portions 54 having flat outer end surfaces 56 disposed in aligned relation with the apertures 26. These surfaces 56 engage the inner surfaces of the inwardly offset fiat portions 24 of the tubular bar body 12 and the body 12 is welded to the end fitting shank 52 by the welds 28 located around the peripheries of the apertures 26.

It will be appreciated that in the crossbar of the present invention it is possible, through the use of standard commercially available tubing, to provide uniform and very accurate exterior dimensions for the crossbar body. This is often of prime importance in the proper bracing of freight in railway freight cars. It will also be appreciated that because the crossbar of the present invention may employ standard commercially available tubing, crossbars may be readily manufactured of any desired length and shape.

While only three specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and changes many be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. What is claimed is:

1. A crossbar for supporting and bracing freight and adapted to extend between and be secured to spaced supports, an elongated tubular body member of generally rectangular cross section, an end fitting at each end of said body member adapted to be connected to one of said supports and having a shank portion extending into one end of said body member, said body member at two 0pposite sides thereof and adjacent each end thereof having inwardly offset portions, the innermost part of said inwardly offset portions being substantially fiat, and means at each end of said body member connecting said inwardly offset portions to said shank portions of said end fittings and holding said shank portion against rotation relative to said body member.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said means at one end of said body member includes a tubular socket member of generally rectangular cross section and received in said one end of said body member and means securing said socket member to said inwardly oflfset portions, said shank portion of the end fitting at said one end of said body member being telescopically received in said socket member and having a fit preventing rotation relative thereto.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said means at one end of said body member comprises means securing said inwardly olfset portions of said body member directly to said shank portion of said end fitting at said one end of said body member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,497,683 Nampa et a1 Feb. 14, 1950 2,520,497 Finke Aug. 29, 1950 2,551,294 Ross May 1, 1951 2,556,302 Stough et al. June 12, 1951 2,627,821 Sjogren Feb. 10, 1953 2,659,319 Herman Nov. 17, 1953 2,769,404 Dietrichson Nov. 6, 1956 2,790,657 Wilder Apr. 30, 1957 2,837,039 Schueder June 3, 1958 2,896,554 Johnston July 28, 1959 

1. A CROSSBAR FOR SUPPORTING AND BRACING FREIGHT AND ADAPTED TO EXTEND BETWEEN AND BE SECURED TO SPACED SUPPORTS, AN ELONGATED TUBULAR BODY MEMBER OF GENERALLY RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTION, AN END FITTING AT EACH END OF SAID BODY MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID SUPPORTS AND HAVING A SHANK PORTION EXTENDING INTO ONE END OF SAID BODY MEMBER, SAID BODY MEMBER AT TWO OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF AND ADJACENT EACH END THEREOF HAVING INWARDLY OFFSET PORTIONS, THE INNERMOST PART OF SAID INWARDLY OFFSET PORTIONS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT, AND MEANS AT EACH END OF SAID BODY MEMBER CONNECTING SAID INWARDLY OFFSET PORTIONS TO SAID SHANK PORTIONS OF SAID END FITTINGS AND HOLDING SAID SHANK PORTION AGAINST ROTATION RELATIVE TO SAID BODY MEMBER. 